Riverdale, NY (September 4, 2004)- On the second day of the Manhattan College Invitational Tournament, Michigan defeated Manhattan 3-0 (30-19, 30-18, 30-17) in the first match of the day at Draddy Gymnasium. Later in the day, Maryland-Eastern Shore overcame a two-game rally by the Lady Jaspers and won a five-set thriller, 3-2 (30-25, 30-27, 20-30, 26-30, 15-13).
Despite losing the first two games against Maryland-Eastern Shore, Manhattan stormed out to an 8-1 lead to begin the third game and seized the momentum of the match. Ashley Watson and Maggie Pfeifer led the charge for Manhattan, as Watson had 12 kills and 23 digs for the match while Pfeifer posted 23 kills and a .538 hitting percentage for the match. During the fourth game, Maryland-Eastern Shore took the lead four different times, but Manhattan again battled back to tie the score at 26. The Lady Jaspers then scored the last four points to knot the match at two games each. Manhattan, poised to win the match, took an 8-3 lead in the fifth game. But Maryland-Eastern Shore clawed back into the game and took a 12-11 lead before Manhattan scored twice for a 13-12 advantage. Fighting back again, Maryland-Eastern Shore put away the last three points and topped the resilient Lady Jaspers in a grueling contest. The loss dropped Manhattan's record to 1-3 on the season.
Against eventual tournament champion Michigan, Manhattan was led by Maggie Pfeifer, who recorded ten kills for a .429 hitting percentage. Whitney Judkins chipped in with six kills for the Lady Jaspers. Tournament MVP Lisa Gamalski had a fine all-around game for Michigan, dishing out 32 assists in addition to five kills without an error. As a team, Michigan posted a .525 hitting percentage for the match, led by 12 kills from All-Tournament Team selection Jennifer Gandolph.
In the nightcap, Michigan defeated American, 3-1 (27-30, 30-25, 30-22, 30-27). Gamalski capped a superb weekend with 54 assists and 14 digs while Gandolph, Danielle Pflum, Lyndsay Miller and Erin Cobler all recorded double-digits in digs. Natacha Cornaz had 17 kills to pace American while Courtney Mulford handed out 50 assists.
The second match of the day proved to be the first of two five-game matches for Maryland-Eastern Shore, as American ultimately held off the Hawks to win 3-2, (30-17, 30-22, 28-30, 27-30, 15-8). Jana Milin and Aja Smith both recorded double digits in kills (17 and 15), and digs (12 and 14, respectively) for Maryland-Eastern Shore while Cutrina Biddulph hit 18 kills for a .429 hitting percentage for American, which prevailed after leading two games to none.
MANHATTAN COLLEGE INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Jana Milin, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
Maggie Pfeifer, Manhattan College
Courtney Mulford, American University
Cutrina Biddulph, American University
Jennifer Gandolph, University of Michigan
Lisa Gamalski, University of Michigan
MANHATTAN COLLEGE INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT MVP
Lisa Gamalski, University of Michigan